2012 Subaru Forester - Great car, but...

Alan

Brunswick, Maryland

Overall

3.0

Value

4.0

Performance

1.0

Style

3.0

Comfort

4.0

Fuel Economy

3.0

Reliability

3.0

2012 Subaru Forester - Great car, but...

This Forester is the 6th Subaru that I have owned. I purchased this 2012 Forester because of my positive experiences with my previous Subarus that I have owned. I purchased the vehicle with approximately 73,000 miles on the odometer so not an old car or high-mileage vehicle either. After purchasing the vehicle, I then moved from the west coast of the country to the east coast, the car made it all the way in four days of driving, but by the end, you could tell it wasn't the happiest of vehicles about the situation. In those 3,000 miles, the car had burned through two quarts of oil and had gone through about a quart of coolant, and the bearing for the clutch assembly was beginning to make noise. A six-year-old vehicle with less than 100,000 miles on the odometer shouldn't really be havi... (more)

This Forester is the 6th Subaru that I have owned. I purchased this 2012 Forester because of my positive experiences with my previous Subarus that I have owned. I purchased the vehicle with approximately 73,000 miles on the odometer so not an old car or high-mileage vehicle either. After purchasing the vehicle, I then moved from the west coast of the country to the east coast, the car made it all the way in four days of driving, but by the end, you could tell it wasn't the happiest of vehicles about the situation. In those 3,000 miles, the car had burned through two quarts of oil and had gone through about a quart of coolant, and the bearing for the clutch assembly was beginning to make noise. A six-year-old vehicle with less than 100,000 miles on the odometer shouldn't really be having these issues. That being said, after approximately an additional 3,000 miles, the bearing has quit making noise, but the car still burns through a significant amount of oil. All Subarus burn through oil, but I have never had one that burns through this much oil. The car has not continued to burn through coolant though. A new issue has recently developed in the last few weeks too. The driver side front window randomly does not want to go down on some days. It seems that turning the car off and then back one alleviates this problem for a short time. Banging on the glass with your fist seems to temporarily alleviate this problem as well. My experience with the car has not been my typical Subaru experience in the past. I honestly do not think this car was treated well by the prior owner. Although that is the case, and with Subaru's reputation for being rugged, you would think that it could handle some neglect and a little rough treatment. I do not believe this bodes well for the future of this car. I will likely be trading it in in the near future for something different. I will still continue to consider another Subaru, but I will no longer be as trusting of them as I once was.

Story

Driving it across the country to move. I remember driving over the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in a snowstorm. Driving over Veil Pass, I couldn't see even 20 feet in front of me due to the craziness of the snowstorm. The Forester held the road incredibly well though.

Driving it across the country to move. I remember driving over the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in a snowstorm. Driving over Veil Pass, I couldn't see even 20 feet in front of me due to the craziness of the snowstorm. The Forester held the road incredibly well though.

Pros

The amount of space that is inside this vehicle. The all-wheel drive. The boxy look of the vehicle. The high clearance that beats real SUVs. The simple layout and lack of buttons and lack of tech features. I want a simple car with few luxury features that amount to electronic gizmos that will likely become buggy or break in the near future.

The amount of space that is inside this vehicle. The all-wheel drive. The boxy look of the vehicle. The high clearance that beats real SUVs. The simple layout and lack of buttons and lack of tech features. I want a simple car with few luxury features that amount to electronic gizmos that will likely become buggy or break in the near future.

Cons

The amount of oil consumption. The seeming fragility of the car. The weakness of the clutch and throughout bearing.

The amount of oil consumption. The seeming fragility of the car. The weakness of the clutch and throughout bearing.

2012 Subaru Forester - Great family car

Jane

Rothsville, Pennsylvania

Overall

5.0

Value

5.0

Performance

3.0

Style

4.0

Comfort

4.0

Fuel Economy

3.0

Reliability

5.0

2012 Subaru Forester - Great family car

This car has been a great family car for my family. We love that the car has a very spacious back seat. Passengers in the back seat have plenty of room for their legs, and the center seat has an armrest that really makes all the difference when it comes to comfort. After installing a car seat, it still feels spacious and there is plenty of room for our large dog to fit in the back seat still. Our favorite part about the Subaru is how well it preforms in the winter. No matter what the weather, I am always super confident to take the Subaru to work/run errands. In any other car, what would feel like a slippery, sliding, tense drive is nonexistent in the Subaru. I have all the confidence the AWD is going to get me where I need to go.

This car has been a great family car for my family. We love that the car has a very spacious back seat. Passengers in the back seat have plenty of room for their legs, and the center seat has an armrest that really makes all the difference when it comes to comfort. After installing a car seat, it still feels spacious and there is plenty of room for our large dog to fit in the back seat still. Our favorite part about the Subaru is how well it preforms in the winter. No matter what the weather, I am always super confident to take the Subaru to work/run errands. In any other car, what would feel like a slippery, sliding, tense drive is nonexistent in the Subaru. I have all the confidence the AWD is going to get me where I need to go.

Story

We took our Subaru to the cabin for the first time, and it was great because we had enough room to take all the supplies and our dog! And no one had to sacrifice any comfort on the drive there or back since it is so roomy.

We took our Subaru to the cabin for the first time, and it was great because we had enough room to take all the supplies and our dog! And no one had to sacrifice any comfort on the drive there or back since it is so roomy.

Pros

My favorite features of the Subaru Forester is the spaciousness of the inside. No one ever feels cramped. I love the way the interior looks. It is very sophisticated to make driving the family around feel a little more luxurious. I love the large trunk storage space. It is so easy to pop the stroller in and out and not have to worry about squeezing and struggling to get it in. We love the confidence we feel while driving this car. It feels safe and does a wonderful job in the winter with the snow. Even in the summer when it is rainy and the roads get slick, you can literally feel the tires... (more)

My favorite features of the Subaru Forester is the spaciousness of the inside. No one ever feels cramped. I love the way the interior looks. It is very sophisticated to make driving the family around feel a little more luxurious. I love the large trunk storage space. It is so easy to pop the stroller in and out and not have to worry about squeezing and struggling to get it in. We love the confidence we feel while driving this car. It feels safe and does a wonderful job in the winter with the snow. Even in the summer when it is rainy and the roads get slick, you can literally feel the tires hugging the pavement around turns and automatically adjusting itself. Also, my husband does a lot of wood working projects, and it has great space to put the seat down in the back and haul boards/wood/supplies from the store all the way home!

Cons

There really weren't many negative aspects for this car in our opinions. Compared to our VW GTI, it doesn't have as much power and speed, but we didn't want that out of our family car. When you go to accelerate to merge onto the highway, it sometimes feels like it is trying so hard to get there but just can't. We also have the heated seats in our car, but sometimes I feel like they don't work as well as they should. I would like for them to get hotter and stay hot longer.

There really weren't many negative aspects for this car in our opinions. Compared to our VW GTI, it doesn't have as much power and speed, but we didn't want that out of our family car. When you go to accelerate to merge onto the highway, it sometimes feels like it is trying so hard to get there but just can't. We also have the heated seats in our car, but sometimes I feel like they don't work as well as they should. I would like for them to get hotter and stay hot longer.

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